Frederick W. Horn

Frederick William Horn (August 21, 1815 – January 15, 1893) was a German-American immigrant, lawyer, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served in many elected offices; he was the 4th, 7th, & 25th speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and served a total of 14 years in the Assembly. He also served five years in the Wisconsin State Senate—including the first three sessions after statehood—and was the first mayor of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, serving seven years in that role. He generally identified as a Democrat, but was elected several times as an Independent.

Frederick W. Horn
Portrait ca. 1872 by Hugo Broich
4th, 7th, & 25th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office January 13, 1875 – January 12, 1876
Preceded by	Gabriel Bouck
Succeeded by	Sam Fifield
In office January 11, 1854 – January 10, 1855
Preceded by	Henry L. Palmer
Succeeded by	Charles C. Sholes
In office January 8, 1851 – January 14, 1852
Preceded by	Moses M. Strong
Succeeded by	James McMillan Shafter
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
In office January 5, 1891 – January 15, 1893
Preceded by	Peter Lochen
Succeeded by	Stephen F. Mayer
Constituency	33rd Senate district
In office June 5, 1848 – January 6, 1851
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Harvey G. Turner
Constituency	11th Senate district
1st Mayor of Cedarburg, Wisconsin
In office April 1885 – April 1892
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	John F. Bruss
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ozaukee district
In office January 3, 1887 – January 5, 1891
Preceded by	John J. Race
Succeeded by	William Henry Fitzgerald
In office January 2, 1882 – January 1, 1883
Preceded by	Charles G. Meyer
Succeeded by	John J. Race
In office January 7, 1867 – January 4, 1869
Preceded by	James McCarthy
Succeeded by	Job Haskell
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ozaukee 2nd district
In office January 4, 1875 – January 3, 1876
Preceded by	Adolphus Zimmermann
Succeeded by	William Carbys
In office January 1, 1872 – January 6, 1873
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Adolphus Zimmermann
In office January 3, 1859 – January 7, 1861
Preceded by	Alexander M. Alling
Succeeded by	William F. Opitz
In office January 5, 1857 – January 4, 1858
Preceded by	William Vogenitz
Succeeded by	Alexander M. Alling
In office January 2, 1854 – January 1, 1855
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	William H. Ramsey
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Washington 1st district
In office January 6, 1851 – January 5, 1852
Preceded by	Solon Johnson
Succeeded by	Simon D. Powers
Chairman of the Ozaukee County Board of Supervisors
In office April 1889 – January 15, 1893
Personal details
Born	(1815-08-21)August 21, 1815 Linum, Brandenburg, Prussia
Died	January 15, 1893(1893-01-15) (aged 77) Cedarburg, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Cedarburg Cemetery Cedarburg, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic Ind. Republican (1875) Ind. Democrat (1880s)
Spouse(s)	Adelheid Schaelher ​ ​ (m. 1845; died 1849)​ Minna Schaper ​ (m. 1850⁠–⁠1893)​
Children	Bertha B. (Zaun) (b. 1850; died 1918) Clara (b. 1853; died 1900) Ernestine (b. 1856; died 1875) William Horn (b. 1859; died 1927) Minna (b. 1861; died 1900) Alex W. Horn (b. 1862; died 1919) Johanna (Altenhofen) (b. 1866; died 1932)
Profession	lawyer

Early life and career

Horn was born in Linum, in the Province of Brandenburg, in the Kingdom of Prussia. He was educated in Berlin, at the Gymnasium of the Gray Friar, but did not graduate, and entered the military service of Prussia.

He emigrated to the United States in 1836, first residing in New York state, then making his way west in 1837. He made his residence in Michigan but traveled extensively through Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and finally Wisconsin. He arrived in Milwaukee, in the Wisconsin Territory, in 1840 and, in 1841, settled in Mequon, in what was then Washington County. He resided here until his final move, to the neighboring community of Cedarburg, in 1847. He practiced law in Cedarburg and served as Mayor. He was editor of the Cedarburg Weekly News.

In 1842 Horn entered his first public office when James Duane Doty, Governor of the Wisconsin Territory, appointed him Justice of the Peace for Washington County.

Political career

He served as postmaster for Mequon, while he was residing there, was Register of Deeds for the county in 1846 and 1847, and served on the Ozaukee County Board of Supervisors

In 1848, he ran for and was elected to the first session of the Wisconsin State Senate, running as an independent Democrat. He was re-elected in November 1848 to a full two-year term in the Senate.

In 1850, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 1851 session, and was chosen as the Speaker of the Assembly for that session. In 1853, Ozaukee County was created out of the eastern part of Washington County. That same year, Horn was elected as one of the first two representatives of Ozaukee County in the Wisconsin Assembly for the 1854 session, he was again chosen as Speaker for that session.

Later in 1854 and 1855, he served as Wisconsin's Commissioner for Immigration in New York City, directing new immigrants and settlers to Wisconsin.

He served again in the 1859 and 1860 sessions of the Wisconsin Assembly. Also during this time, he represented Wisconsin on the Democratic National Committee, and was Vice President of the 1860 Democratic National Conventions in Charleston and Baltimore. He was also a delegate for Wisconsin at the 1868 Democratic National Convention.

He served as Ozaukee County Commissioner of Schools from 1862 to 1865, but returned to the Assembly again in 1867, 1868, and 1872. He was elected in 1874 with both Democratic and Republican support, and was then chosen as Speaker again for the 1875 session of the Assembly. He went on to serve another five years in the Assembly, in 1882, 1887, 1888, 1889, and 1890.

In 1890, he was elected to a four-year term in the Wisconsin State Senate, but he would die in January 1893 before the end of that term.

Horn was also active in local politics during this time, serving as Mayor of Cedarburg for the first seven years after it was incorporated as a city in 1885, and serving as Chairman of the Ozaukee County Board of Supervisors for the last four years of his life, from 1889 to 1893.

Horn is the namesake of the community of Horns Corners, Wisconsin.

Family and personal life

Horn married Adelheid Schaelher in 1845, but she died in 1849. They had no children. Horn married for a second time in 1850. With his second wife, Minna Schaper, Horn had seven children. Horn died January 15, 1893, in Cedarburg.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1874)

Wisconsin Assembly, Ozaukee 2nd District Election, 1874

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 3, 1874
	Independent Democrat	Frederick W. Horn	444	42.13%
	Reform	William F. Jahn	334	31.69%
	Reform	R. Schmidt	276	26.19%
Total votes			1,054	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly (1881, 1886, 1888)

Wisconsin Assembly, Ozaukee District Election, 1881

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 8, 1881
	Democratic	Frederick W. Horn	690	42.07%
	Independent Democrat	James McCarthy	527	32.13%
	Republican	Alexander M. Alling	423	25.79%
Total votes			1,640	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly, Ozaukee District Election, 1886

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 2, 1886
	Independent Democrat	Frederick W. Horn	1,648	61.33%
	Democratic	H. B. Schwim	1,039	38.67%
Total votes			2,687	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly, Ozaukee District Election, 1888

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 6, 1888
	Independent Democrat	Frederick W. Horn (incumbent)	1,888	40.67%
	Democratic	John J. Race	1,438	30.98%
	Republican	Alexander M. Alling	1,316	28.35%
Total votes			4,642	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Senate (1890)

Wisconsin Senate, 33rd District Election, 1890

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 4, 1890
	Democratic	Frederick W. Horn	7,097	71.00%
	Republican	J. E. Trottman	2,878	28.79%
	Prohibition	Mr. Thayer	21	0.21%
Total votes			9,996	100.0%
	Democratic hold